Week 6-Wednesday

I thought the most peculiar part of today's lecture was the in-class conversations about individualization and McDonaldization. I naturally gravitated towards these topics because as we talked about first and second modernity I couldn't help but think how critical both of these movements have been for the last several years. We see a common trend in our culture: efficient, "my way," quick, private, etc. We literally can go through our day and not speak to a human being, why is this? Are we so intrigued with our own self-worth and self-promise that we completely shut out the rest of the world around us? Possibly. I lean to the side that would suggest, probably. Through radical changes over the last 20-30 years with technology, machinery, new and improved ways of doing things, we interact so much less. 

Further thoughts:

McDonald's is not helping. They give us the opportunity to have it "our way" and move on throughout the day with more of a mentality to be more efficient, get things done, and worry about myself. Now is it wrong to get things done with more of an efficient manner? No. However, I would suggest though, there are things in this life that hold greater importance than doing things or even receiving things at a faster pace. Naturally, humanity enjoys going at a fast pace, producing and consuming things faster, especially in the business world when you must be aware of market trends, cutting-edge products, and consumer tendencies. Has McDonald's shown us a new way of producing a product with the same result every time? Yes, but some of us are realists and things just don't come out the same every-time, some may suggest it is called living life.